The present invention is directed to improved apparatus and methods for controlling fecal and other human or animal body odors from a substantially enclosed space and in particular for withdrawing and incinerating odorous gasses from pit latrines.
Pit latrines suffer from bad odor due to the confined nature of the pit and the waste deposited into the pit. The addition of heat during the busy summer months amplifies the odor problem. Often, pit latrines are located in remote areas. Thus, it may not be possible to equip a pit latrine with sufficient ventilation, for example, elevated stacks, to reduce latrine odor. Even in situations where electricity is available, mechanical ventilation, such as an exhaust fan, may remove some of the latrine odor from an enclosed area, but then merely move the odor to another area that can still create an undesirable odor in a public place, such as a park located near the pit latrine. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a method and relatively simple apparatus for deodorizing a pit latrine that does not merely move the offending odors from one location to another.
It is known in the art to remove noxious gas, such as sewer gas, by flaring the gas. A variety of patent publications disclose burners for igniting noxious gasses from, for example, sewers, mines and landfills. However, the use of open flames are not desirable in remote settings and/or settings visited by the general population, such as public parks.